[nagdu] Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog

[Buddy Brannan]

While I’m sure the policeman had no legal obligation to help, what about a moral obligation for, I don’t know, a human being doing something decent for another human being? Of course, I guess any of the humans in the restaurant could have stood up to help if the cop didn’t, but still. Sigh.

On Jul 10, 2014, at 5:10 PM, Timothy J. Meloy via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Wow unbelievable. I'm conscionable actually. Had guides are extensions of us. Has to be grounds for a lawsuit in there somewhere.
> T.J.
> 
>> On Jul 10, 2014, at 2:44 PM, Ginger Kutsch via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog 
>> 
>> NBC 6 South Florida
>> 
>> http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Blind-Woman-Says-Law-Enforcement-Offered-
>> No-Help-to-Her-Dying-Service-Dog-266498871.html
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> A blind South Florida woman said in her time of need, Miami-Dade Police and
>> 911 turned their back on her and because of that, the service animal who
>> took her everywhere is dead.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Nancy Alfonso said she was dining at a restaurant in Doral with another
>> woman who also had her dog, when Alfonso's dog became violently ill. Nancy
>> said the dog, named Kiroo, was in good health until he started vomiting
>> inside the restaurant.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Alfonso said she was begging for help to rush the dog to the vet, which was
>> about a mile away. However, the women said a police officer who was at the
>> scene and a 911 operator didn't lift a finger to help.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "He (Kiroo) needed help and inside the restaurant was the police," Alfonso
>> said. "He (officer) came out at the door and he said, "Ah, it's a dog" and
>> he went inside too. Nobody helped us."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The manager at the restaurant told NBC 6 the dog was lying on the pavement
>> and a uniformed Miami-Dade Police officer was eating inside.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "Luz asked the police, 'You don't have a service dog with you too? What if
>> this happened to your dog," Nancy said. "And he said we'll take to our car.
>> And you cannot take this animal who is a guide dog for a blind person? You
>> don't care about a blind person?"
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The manager said he called 911 and told them it was a service dog in
>> trouble.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "They were no help at all," Nancy said.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Nancy and her friend estimated that 45 minutes passed before a Good
>> Samaritan drove Kiroo to the Doral Centre Animal Hospital. Unfortunately for
>> Kiroo, it was too late.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Miami-Dade Police said there is nothing in their policy that directs an
>> officer to transport an animal. A disability expert NBC 6 spoke to said the
>> situation falls into a gray area and a law enforcement officer may have more
>> of a duty to take action than the 911 operator.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> MDPD said before they can even investigate the incident further, they need
>> to confirm that it was a MDPD officer on the scene and an official complaint
>> about what happened would need to be filed and none of that has happened.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Nancy said she hopes her story will help prevent the incident from happening
>> again.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "To bring people more conscious that the dog is of course not a human being,
>> but the dog is a service animal and we are human. We are human. Blind, but
>> we are human," Nancy said. "And the police department also has service
>> animals."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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